Making upgrades to your home is often complicated, but if your home is historic, complications can multiply. What should you focus on changing in your older home when the updates you need may feel endless? A few upgrades Petri Plumbing & Heating, Inc. suggests for those looking to upgrade their older homes include:
Ductless mini-split air conditioners. Many historic homes don’t have proper ductwork, or they may not have modern ducts at all. Adding ducts is expensive, and ductless mini-split air conditioners provide a less expensive alternative that can efficiently keep the home cool and comfortable.
Convert from oil to gas heating. Fewer homes are using oil as a heating source every year. Natural gas is easier to maintain, less expensive and more convenient. It also burns cleaner for more environmentally-conscious heating.
Repiping. One hundred years ago, buildings and homes used different materials for internal piping and plumbing than is used today. If a home has pipes that are original to the building, they could be a cause for concern as they tend to degrade and erode over time, losing water and money to leaks.
Low-flow toilets. Not too long ago, homeowners and renters were advised to put a brick in their toilet tank to lower water usage. Modern toilets use much less water per flush than their counterparts from 20-30 years ago. A low-flow toilet is an upgrade to consider to lower water bills.
Tankless water heaters. Space comes at a premium for many, and a tankless water heater can help achieve two goals at once. They heat water on demand and more efficiently, and they also take up less space than traditional storage water heaters.
“There are some limitations to what can be done with older homes, either from a structural or historical preservation standpoint,” Petri says. “But there are still some ways [to] modernize amenities and maybe even save a little money while still preserving the irreplaceable character of the home.”
Source: Petri Plumbing & Heating, Inc.
